


To be young and in love

by Ephemeral_Joy



Category: Anne with an E (TV)
Genre: F/M, Family, Fluff, Gossip, Love, Romance, Secrets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-05
Updated: 2018-07-05
Packaged: 2019-06-05 22:48:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15181031
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ephemeral_Joy/pseuds/Ephemeral_Joy
Summary: Rachel has some very important news to tell Marilla!Obviously, it's about Anne and a boy latched to her side ever since he returned from South America.





	To be young and in love

**Author's Note:**

  * For [theystayalive](https://archiveofourown.org/users/theystayalive/gifts).



> I'm very emotional, and this is the outcome.
> 
> TODAY WE ARE GETTING SEASON TWO Y'ALL!

‘Marilla Cuthbert!’, Rachel Lynde exclaimed, barging through the kitchen door unannounced. Her chin was raised haughtily, one hand firmly on her skirt as to not stumble over the little steps. Rachel’s expression almost seemed disinterested, but the excited glint in her eyes told otherwise. 

Marilla turned around from the sink, one eyebrow raised in amusement creating wrinkles in her aging skin. Her pruny lips formed a smirk. It had been awhile Rachel had come along with new gossip about Avonlea. The tattletale must’ve been parched during the dull days. 

‘What is it, Rachel?’

‘I’ve seen your girl, Anne, walking with  _ a boy _ !’, Rachel said, dabbing her forehead with a handkerchief due to the excitement. ‘And not just today, but every day  _ for the past week _ ! I’m appalled you can’t keep her in check, Marilla. I expected better from you!’

‘Rachel, Anne is sixteen,’ Marilla crossed her arms defensively. Albeit Rachel had good intentions, her vision of life was quite… conservative. Not that Marilla was as liberal as those young mothers in town who talked about “feminism” and “the right to vote”, but she didn’t see a problem in Anne walking with a boy. She was sensible. She supposed it wasn’t that Billy boy, now was it? ‘She can take care of herself.’

‘Marilla!’, Rachel was getting pent up. ‘I think I saw them…’, the woman looked behind her, making sure no one was listening in. Marilla rolled her eyes at the dramatics. Rachel and Anne were more alike than the two both thought. ‘... holding hands!’

This got Marilla’s attention. It was one thing being friends with a boy (after all, her best friend used to be John Blythe back in her teenage years) but another thing to be affectionate. What if they’ve done more than holding hands? Anne wasn’t married yet!

(Oh for heaven’s sake, if Anne was married without Marilla knowing, she’d die of a heart attack, that’s for sure.)

‘Do you know who it was?’, Marilla asked, the frown in her forehead creasing.    
Rachel wiggled her eyebrows, the smirk returning. Her eyes glinted with mischief.   
‘Please, who do you  _ think  _ it was?’

Marilla’s pruny lips smoothed out into a soft smile. Of course. Ever since he returned from South America, he’d been latched to Anne’s side. They were study buddies, they went to the city together during the holidays to check out all the new trends that have emerged from Europe, he always escorted her during soirees, they read at the shore of the lake, she had found them drawing portraits of each other at the kitchen table.    
Where Anne was, there was Gilbert. If Gilbert was near, Anne was a step behind him. Anne and Gilbert. Gilbert and Anne. It almost became a natural phenomenon.

 

Because,  _ of course _ it’s Gilbert.

 

‘Well,’ Rachel pressed, tremble in her voice. ‘Aren’t you going to do anything about it?’

Marilla shrugged, unimpressed, ‘Why should I? He’s a kind boy, a real gentlemen. Did you know he gave us an apple tree last christmas?’

‘Yes,’ Rachel replied stiffly, ‘you told me three times.’

‘Than you must know he’ll do Anne no harm.’

‘He’s a  _ teenage boy _ , Marilla. They have hormones.’

‘And Anne is strong.’   

Rachel puffed, sitting down at the dining table. Marilla followed her, setting down a cup of tea she had been preparing as well before the unexpected visit of her best friend. 

‘So what? You don’t mean to tell me you’ll just let this happen without saying anything?’

‘Oh please,’ Marilla waved her hand dismissively, ‘I will. But I’m not going to…  _ scold  _ her, or whatever you’re implying. I’ll just… kindly let her know that I’m aware of the changing situation.’

Rachel sipped her tea, ‘Good.’   
Suddenly, her head whipped to the window, like a dog sensing someone outside. She stumbled upright, nearly falling over her skirt.    
‘Marilla,’ she whispered excitedly once reaching the window, motioning for her best friend to come forward. The woman sighed, wiping her hands on her apron before joining her friend. 

‘Look.’

 

There they stood, Anne and Gilbert at the closed gate of Green Gables. They were standing close, Anne’s hand leaning on the gate as she stumbled closer into the boy. Gilbert smiled down at her, tucking a strand of her bronze hair behind her ear. 

Rachel fanned herself, looking nauseous, ‘Good Lord.’

Marilla could only smile. They looked so… happy. How could she be annoyed by Anne’s secret when she was undeniably joyous? 

Gilbert’s thumb caressed her cheek, Anne leaning into the touch as her smile broadened and made her face lit up. The boy’s expression softened.

Marilla sighed, her heart plummeting to her stomach with emotion. 

‘I think we should give them some privacy,’ the woman whispered. Rachel gave her an incredulous look, but when she saw how adament Marilla was, the tattletale obliged. 

‘Fine.’

 

Marilla shot one last glance at the pair outside, just in time to see the rosy coloured blush on Anne’s cheeks when she leaned in closer, only an inch from Gilbert’s face. He cupped her jaw.

 

Oh, to be young and in love.  


End file.
